The third day of the Brasil Ride featured a cross country stage, which had made its debut in the race last year, in Rio de Contas. Its short, 35km distance and technical sections meant the racing would be intense. The course went around the Chapel of Bom Jesus, where the priest blessed the passage of all the athletes.

Unlike the other stages, in the cross country stage, racers on a team were allowed to separate and fight for individual victory. The final result was calculated by an average time of each team's two members.

Soon after the start, five riders formed a lead group including race leaders Luis Leão Pinto and Tiago Ferreira, Kohei Yamamoto, Henrique Avancini and Josemberg Pinho "Montoya".

After five laps of the 7km course, the Japanese Yamamoto overtook the Portuguese riders to accelerate on the chapel downhill and take the stage win.

"You are Kamikaze," said Pinto to Yamamoto, who flew away from the rest on his dual suspension bike.

"I'm very happy with the victory," said Yamamoto. "I wasn't the stronger rider going up, but I enjoyed the downhills a lot."

Final results showed that the Portuguese duo had kept their first place overall, followed by two Brazilian teams including Henrique Avancini & Douglas Moi (Caloi) and Josemberg Pinho & Gilberto Gois (Trust Bikes / JC Bikes).

The winner of the day, Yamamoto, finished in fourth place on the day, because his partner Daniel Carneiro finished in 14th position.

The next and fourth stage of Brasil Ride on Wednesday will be marked by beautiful singletrack with views of the peak of Barbados (2033m), the highest in the northeast of Brazil.